The Hub's accomplishments in Kenya to Date:
- To date the Hub has supported 294 firms and associations to increase their export competitiveness
- 81 firms have been supported to participate in various trade shows resulting in 615 business linkages
- Hub facilitated AGOA exports as at June 30 2017 stood at $125,817,038
- Exports to other market destinations as a result of Hub support are $86,180
- 3,464 new full time equivalent (FTE) jobs have been created, 73% of which are for women
- Facilitated $30,633,968 new private sector investments in the ag and non ag sector
- Supported successful ratification of the SPS Protocol
- Advocated for the review of the Companies Act to conform with the provisions of the EAC Common Market Protocol
- Supported successful implementation of ePing electronic alert system
- Supported the adoption of a notification submission systems for technical barriers to trade (TBT) sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS)
- Supported use of ISOlutions which allows Kenya to effectively participate in international standardization process
USAID grant signed to create 2,000 new jobs for youth in the apparel industry
Signed a new grant with Generation Program Kenya Limited, a local subsidiary of the McKinsey Social Initiative. Working hand-in-hand with Kenya’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and apparel companies, the program will set up and equip seven training centers throughout Kenya, provide over 100,000 hours in skills development and train 2,000 Kenyan youth, preparing them for full-time sewing machine operator jobs in the industry. The grant is a part of the Hub’s larger “East Africa Cotton, Textile and Apparel Workforce Development Initiative,” a collaboration between the Hub and the American Apparel and Footwear Association that will ensure U.S. brands and retailers’ goods are manufactured in accordance with best business practices and operations in East Africa, producing a win-win for trading partners.
Kenyan woman-owned home-décor company enters mainstream U.S. market
Supported a Kenyan home decor producer to ship her largest-to-date U.S. order. Valued at $200,000, the deal is as a result of the Hub-organized Cost Plus World Market Trade Mission. (see success story at the end of this report) The profit from this order will go to the nearly 400 artisans who contributed to each hand-carved piece and will help finance her next big export to the U.S., which shouldn’t be far off given her now proven capacity for high-volume supply.
Read more here
The Hub supports increased investments in the upcoming Kenya Leather Park
On June 30, the Hub’s leather advisor completed his contract, during which he facilitated $9 million in total investment commitments for the upcoming Kenya Leather Park and a trade deal between Bata Shoes Kenya, Kenya Defense Forces and the Kenya Prisons Services to supply a total of $1.9 million in new sales of officer’s boots and shoes. Also in the leather sector, the Hub supported an India-based ‘trainer of trainers’ session that provided new eco-friendly technologies for best practices in leather finishing and production for five Kenyan tanneries and leather companies.
The Hub facilitates $36M new private sector investments
The Hub has facilitated $30,633,968 new private sector investments in the ag and non ag sector in Kenya. The Hub offers transaction support services. Eligible investors include private equity funds, commercial banks, impact funds, and development finance institutions. The Hub’s transaction team acts as a neutral intermediary to provide: opportunity validation market intelligence, fundraising support, due diligence, deal structuring, financial analysis and modelling.
The Hub has helped financially close $51m of investments over the life of the project, $33.9 million in the agricultural and food chain sector and $17.4 million in the non-ag sector. There are $165 million of deals under review in the Hub’s investment pipeline. Over
Product development excellence training for SMEs
Facilitated training on product development excellence for selected SMEs in the sector, in collaboration with Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC). The training covered a wide range of topics in product development, including: product development planning, product development process, managing cross-functional teams and how to generate superior value products.
Helped leather enterprises develop innovative products that can compete globally, with a focus on company owners and senior management – those who can implement the concepts on which they were trained.
Trade and export facilitation through “Buy Kenya Build Kenya” strategy
Facilitated Kenya’s leading player in the formal footwear sector and the largest buyer of raw leather, Bata Kenya, to access opportunities for supplying Kenya Defense Forces with military boots and shoes.
Linked Bata Kenya to SMEs who have since started sourcing specialized finished leather for manufacture of leather goods, resulting in approximately $1.9 million in new sales.
Introduced MAS Tannery, a company established in 2004 that specializes in tanning (wet blue), to new markets in Turkey, India and Egypt. This allowed the company to increase exports to new clients by approximately $500,000 per month.
Investor mobilization for the Kenya Leather Park
Supported Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture to purchase 50,000 MT of maize from Ethiopia for the Kenyan Strategic Grain Reserve, bringing the total maize trade facilitated by the Hub between Ethiopia and the East African region to $100 million in the current season.
Related Blogs and Resources
Published on November 22, 2017
Rwanda’s business community should take advantage of the recently installed modern infrastructure at Mombasa port to increase trade. Catherine Mturi-Wairi, the Kenya Ports Authority managing director, has said.
Mturi-Wairi said the authority is committed to facilitating regional trade through provision of efficient and convenient services, adding that they look to raise and sustain the port performance to world class standards.
“We are working on a plan that will further reduce unnecessary delays at the port. Already, we have expanded yards and berths to handle more cargo, revamped the ICT system for faster document processing, and modernized cargo handling equipment. Read more. Source | New Times
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Published on November 07, 2017
Several small- and medium-sized Mauritian businesses and entrepreneurs are expected in the country mid this month as they seek to reach out to millions of consumers.
They will attend an exhibition organised by the Trade Promotion of Mauritius and the Consulate of Mauritius in Nairobi.
The three-day fair to be held on 13 and 15 this month at Hilton Hotel is co-organised by the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (Retrak). Retrak chief executive officer Wambui Mbarire said participants will exhibit textile and apparel, jewellery, alcoholic beverages and other fast-moving consumer goods. Read more. Source | Business Daily
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Published on November 02, 2017
A Mombasa-based garment factory has hired 117 machine operators underlining the potential of short-term courses in jobs generation for the youth in the export sector.
East Africa Trade Hub said the new employees were the first batch of trainees that went through an eight-week teaching at clothes factories based in Nairobi and Mombasa.
The firm plans to train 2,000 clothes-machine operators. It says “a short-term machine-specific training strategy” should be adopted to ease shortage of specialist skills in the sub-sector.This, the firm said, will help create sustainable jobs for the high number of unemployed youth across Kenya. Read more. Source | Business Daily
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Published on November 02, 2017
The improvement was mainly helped by reforms in starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, access to credit, paying taxes and trading across borders.The country was ranked the third position in the continent behind Mauritius and Rwanda.
Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed said the new ranking will see Kenya improve in attracting investments in the country.
“The Improvements are driven by efforts by the government and the private sector in improving the business climate. Kenya has delivered last year the highest number of business-related reforms on the African continent,” he said. Read more. Source | Capital News
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Published on October 18, 2017
Kenya said Tuesday that non-tarrif barriers are slowing down exports to the East Africa Community (EAC). Export Promotion Council (EPC) CEO Peter Biwott said that some EAC members have introduced new standards and procedures at border points, which act as non-tariff barriers for export of manufactured goods from Kenya.
“We are therefore pursuing bilateral talks with countries in the trading bloc with a view to removing the challenges that are affecting our exports to the region,” Biwott said on the sidelines of the launch of the Kenya Leather Development Council Strategic Plan 2017-2022.
The strategic plan contains interventions to fuel Kenya’s emergence as a global leather industry leader. Government data indicates that the EAC accounted for 21.1 percent of Kenya’s total exports in 2016. Read more. Source | Coastweek
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Published on September 20, 2017
Kenya recently approved freight tariffs for the standard gauge railway, as the government seeks to meet its target of transporting 40 per cent of cargo from Mombasa port by rail.
Kenya Railways Corporation (KPC) managing director Atanas Maina told The EastAfrican that the corporation has received approvals of the tariffs from the Ministry of Transport, which will be half the road haulage rates, and will now begin discussions with transporters. Read more. Source | East African
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Published on September 14, 2017
Kenya Airways is eyeing New York as its first destination when it starts direct flights to the US next year.The national carrier sees the city as a convenient East Coast aviation hub to mark its entry into the US, before spreading its wings across the world’s biggest economy.
The airline, which last week received regulatory approval to operate direct flights to the US, also estimates that it will move 60,000 passengers in its first year of operation on the route.
“We are currently focusing on New York due to the importance of point to point traffic with Nairobi. However, we are also studying other options on the US territory as we may expand our network in the US in the near future,” Kenya Airways (KQ) Commercial Director Vincent Coste said in an interview. Read more. Source | Business Daily
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Published on September 14, 2017
Starting a successful business is no mean feat. Right from coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable company can be taxing even for a seasoned entrepreneur. It is much harder for someone who is starting out.
This is because the journey to success is fraught with challenges. However, knowing and anticipating the roadblocks you may encounter in your start-up journey could help you prepare, avoid common pitfalls and eventually break even.
Everybody talks about the role small businesses play in jobs creation, distribution of wealth and in growing economies. In Kenya, small businesses face a unique set of challenges. Read more. Source | Business Daily
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